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MR/WEBSTEE AT BOSTON, 



SEPTE3IBER 30, 1842. 



WITH HIS SPEECH, 



DELIVERED IN FANEUIL HALL ON THAT OCCASION. 



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BOSTON: 

SAMUEL N. DICKINSON, PRINTER, 
1842. 






COREESPONDENCE. 



To THE HoM. Daniel Webstee: 

Sir, — The undersigned, desirous of evincing their gratitude for your eminent 
and patriotic public services, during a long term of years, and especially for the 
part sustained by you in the late negotiations which have been so skilfully con- 
ducted and happily terminated in a Treaty -with Great Britain, invite you to meet 
them at a Public Dinner, at such time as shall be convenient to yourself. 



H. G. OTIS, 
J. MASON, 
WILLIAM STURGIS, 
JOSIAH BRADLEE, 
CHAS. G. LORING, 
CHAS. P. CURTIS, 
WM. APPLETON, 
ABBOTT LAWRENCE 
N. APPLETON, 
P. T. JACKSON, 
JOSEPH BALCH, 
JAMES K. MILLS, 
F. SKINNER, 
J. T. STEVENSON, 
HENRY CABOT, 
P. C. BROOKS, 
ROBERT G. SHAW, 
BENJ. RICH, 
PHINEAS SPRAGUE, 
HENRY OXNARD, 
J. L BOWDITH, 
S. AUSTIN, Jr. 
J. T. BUCKINGHAM, 
THOS. B. CURTIS, 
ABEL PHELPS. 
PETER HARVEY, 

Boston, September 8, 1842. 

Boston, September 9, 1842. 

Gentlemen, — I have received your letter of the Sth instant, inviting me to a 
public dinner, and am duly sensible of the value of this proof of your regard. 

It will give me great pleasure to meet all my fellow citizens, who may desire to 
see me ; and the mode of such meeting I should leave to them, with a preference, 
however, on my part, if equally agreeable to others, that the dinner should be dis- 
pensed with, and that the meeting should b«i had in such a manner as shall impose 
the least restrictions, and best suit the ccjijYenience of all who may be disposed to 
attend it. I am, gentlemen, with very sincere regard. 

Your obliged fellow citizen, and obedient servant, 

DANIEL WEBSTER. 
To Messrs. H. G. Otis, J. Mason, William Sturgis, Josiah Bradlee, Chas. 

G. LoRiNG, Charles P. Curtis, William Appleton, Abbott Lawrence, 

and others. 



EBEN. CHADWICK, 
ROB'T HOOPER, Jr. 
SAMUEL QUINCY, 
OZIAS GOODWIN, 
JOS. RUSSELL, 
JACOB BIGELOW, 
JONA. CHAPMAN, 
G. R. RUSSELL, 
H. WAINWRIGHT, 
FRANCIS FISHER, 
JOHN S. BLAKE, 
F. C. GRAY, 

B. R. CURTIS, 
LEMUEL SHAW, 
THOS. B. WALES, 
GEO. MOREY, 

C. W. CARTWRIGHT, 
E. BALDWIN, 
HORACE SCUDDER, 
FRANCIS WELCH, 
JNO. L. DIMMOCK, 
FRANCIS C. LOWELL, 
CALEB CURTIS, 
GEO. HAYWARD, 
AMOS LAWRENCE, 
GEO. DARRACOTT, 



SIDNEY BARTLETT, 
SEWELL TAPPAN, 
SAMUEL L. ABBOT, 
JOSEPH BALLISTER, 
HENRY D. GRAY, 
GEO. B. CARY, 
NATHAN HALE, 
J. M. FORBES, 
S. HOOPER, 
GEO. HOWE, 
W. H. GARDINER, 
J. H. WOLCOTT, 
DANIEL C. BACON, 
J. DAVIS, Jr., 
W. C. AYLWIN, 
F. DEXTER, 
ISAAC LIVERMORE, 
THOS. KINNICUTT, 
EDM. DWIGHT, 
JOHN P. ROBINSON, 
HENRY WILSON, 
GEO. T. CURTIS, 
GEO. T. BIGELOW, 
WM. W. GREENOUGH, 
THOS. LAMB, 
JOSEPH GRINNELL. 



RECEPTION OF MR. AVEBSTEE. 



Some time before the hour appointed for the reception of Mr. 
Webster, on Friday morning, Faneuil Hall was filled with om* 
citizens. Very many of our distinguished citizens came at an 
early hour, to make sm*e of admission to the Hah, and it "was 
rapidly filled to the full extent of its capacity, and great numbers 
were obHged to turn away without being able to come within 
the doors. 

Just before eleven o'clock. His Honor Jonathan Chapman, 
Mayor of the City, rose and said that the meeting on this occa- 
sion had been appointed at eleven o'clock, and that he had 
received a letter from a committee of those gentlemen who had 
extended the invitation to Mr. Webster, requesting him to pre- 
side. This he had consented to do, unless objection should be 
made. (Applause.) He would simply say, then, that the com- 
mittee would bring Mr. Webster in precisely at eleven o'clock. 

Amid the applause that followed this information, Mr. Web- 
ster, with the committee of his friends, entered the hall amid 
tremendous and continued cheering, INIr. Chapman led him 
forward upon the platform, and after the assembly had given 
nine hearty cheers, addressed its guest as follows. — Boston 
Daily Advertiser, Oct. 1, 1842. 

THE MAYOR'S ADDRESS. 

Mr. Webster : — I have the honor. Sir, to be the organ of this 
large assembly of your former constituents, and still fellow citi- 
zens and friends, who have gathered to gi'eet you with a cordial 
welcome, upon yom* visit to what we are proud to call, and trust 
you will always feel to be — your home. We sought to meet 



you at a social festival ; but it has taken the present far better 
form, at your own request. The pointed meaning, however, of 
the occasion is unchanged. Believing that as a true republican, 
you will find tlie richest reward of your public services in the 
respect and gratitude of those whom you serve, we would assure 
you in the most emphatic manner, that so far as your friends 
here are concerned, you have them from the heart. We would 
assure you, that though your duties, at your county's call, have 
separated you from us for a season, you are not forgotten, — but 
that wherever your destiny may place you, so long, as in time 
past, you shall be nobly defending your country's Constitution, 
and maintaining untarnished her honor, there will be living and 
beating hearts here, in which you will ever be enshrined. 

A large portion. Sir, of your mature life has been spent in the 
public service, — and of that portion, a gi-eat part as the immedi- 
ate representative of this city and Commonwealth. We rejoice 
in this opportunity to testify to you, that your long and eminent 
services in our behalf, are still held in most gi'ateful remembrance. 
We acknowledge our deep obligations to you, for your unwaver- 
ing fidelity to our interests — for your able support of that cause 
of American industry, whose protection has so distinguished the 
recent session of Congress, and for the broad and comprehensive 
spirit in which your legislative duties were ever discharged. 
Bright, Sir, ever bright will be the page of history which records 
the efforts of your commanding intellect in the councils of the 
nation. And New England — glorious New England — your 
birth-place and your home — whose heart, you know, is warm, 
though her skies be cold — New England, from every summit of 
her granite hills, will never cease to hail you as her worthy rep- 
resentative. 

We parted with you with regret indeed, but still with ready 
acquiescence in the wise judgment of that good old man, who, 
— himself placed in the Presidential chair, amidst a people's accla- 
mations, — from amongst the bright lights of this broad land, 
selected you to stand at his right hand. It pleased a wise but 
inscrutable Providence, too soon, alas ! to mortal eyes, to remove 
him from his elevated seat on earth to, we trust, a higher one 
above. But nobly. Sir, have you sustained the momentous in- 



5 

terests, which in a most critical period of the country's history, 
he committed to your charge. No sound, indeed, of his glad 
voice shall ever again greet your ear. But we feel that his be- 
nignant spirit has been, and will still be near to bless you, and 
approve the loud "well done," with which every true patriot 
must salute you. 

It is to your eminent services. Sir, on this broader field which 
you have lately occupied, that we look this day with special 
pride and admiration. Sir, in simple but heartfelt language, we 
thank you for the honorable attitude, in which, so far as your de- 
partment has been concerned, you have placed your country 
before the world. Would to God that it stood as well in other 
respects I In the many emergencies in our foreign relations, 
which the tvvo past years have presented, you have been faithful 
throughout to the true interests and honor of the country, and no 
where in its archives can abler, manlier, wiser or more dignified 
papers be found, than those which bear your signatm^e. 

When the dark cloud lowered upon our neighboring frontier, 
— when a great and fundamental law of nations had well nigh 
yielded to popular passion, — when a single step only intervened 
between us and a war, that must have been disastrous, as it 
would have found us in the wrong, — it was your wise and en- 
ergetic interference that dispelled the storm, by seeking to make 
us just even under galling provocation. 

When a gasconading upstart from a neighboring republic, so 
called, presumed to address to this government a communication 
worthy only of his own, but which no one of his coadjutors was 
bold enough to present in person, — one firm and dignified look 
from om- own Secretary of State, a single sweep of his power- 
ful arm, relieved the country from any fm-ther specimens of Mex- 
ican diplomacy. 

And, crowning act of all, when amidst the numerous and 
perplexing questions, which had so long disturbed the harmony 
of two nations whom God meant should always be friends, 
England sent forth her ambassador of compromise and peace, 
you met him like a man. Subtle diplomacy and political leger- 
demain you threw to the winds, and taking only for yom- guides, 
simple honesty, common sense, E^nd a christian spirit, behold ! by 



their magic influence, there is not a cloud in the common 
heavens above us, but only the glad and cheering sunlight of 
friendship and peace. 

We have abeady, Su*, on this same spot, expressed our satis- 
faction with this treaty with England, while paying a merited 
tribute of respect to the distinguished representative of that 
country, who was associated w^ith you in its adjustment. We 
repeat to you our satisfaction with the result, and with the mag- 
nanimous spkit by which it was accomplished. We may add 
now, as we might not then, that we know not the other individ- 
ual within the limits of the country, who could have so success- 
fully achieved this happy event. 

We are aware. Sir, that this treaty is not yet completed, but 
that an important act is yet necessary for its accomplishment. 
We anticipate no such result, and yet it may be that stUl further 
work may be necessary for the crowning of our hopes. You 
have brought sldll and labor, — ay, and self-sacrifice too, — to 
this great work, we know. And whatever may befall the coun- 
try, in this or any other matter, we are sm-e that you will be 
ready to sacrifice every thing for her good, save honor. And 
on that point, amidst the perplexities of these perplexing times, 
we shall be at ease ; for we know that he who has so nobly 
maintained his country's honor, may safely be intrusted with 
his own. 

And permit us. Sir, most warmly to greet you as our personal 
friend and fellow-citizen. Though the few and brief intervals 
of leisure which your public duties have permitted you, have 
allowed us far less intercom-se with you in private life than we 
have wished, we have never ceased to feel that you were one 
of us. We rejoice in the kind Providence which has been with 
you in the past, and may Heaven stiU smile upon your futm-e 
years. Long may you live to be an ornament and support of 
your native republic. And when at last your sun goes down, — 
as every orb, the brightest even, must set, — may it be from a 
serene and tranquil sky. It was bright at its rising ; it is bril- 
liant at its meridian. May no clouds gather around its depart- 
ing; but, life's labors done and honors won, may it, — in your 



own classical and beautiful words, — may it go down with 
" slow descending, long lingering light." 

And now, fellow-citizens, it would be the idlest ceremony in 
the world, to presume to introduce to you our distinguished 
guest. It was his privilege, upon the occasion of an important 
ti-ial in the Supreme Court of this commonwealth, a few years 
since, to introduce to that Com-t, and to the bar, the late lament- 
ed Wilham Wkt, his opposing counsel in the cause. He did it 
by a just and beautiful ti-ibute to his eminent talents and worth. 
It was the no less just and beautiful reply of Mr. Wnt, w^hen 
he rose in turn to address the Court, that he had one reason to 
regi-et the very kind introduction which he had just received ; 
for" his friend, Mr. Webster, had thereby placed him under an 
obligation which it never would be in his power to retm-n, — 
for he never could meet that gentlemen at any bar in the United 
States where his name and his fame had not gone before him. 

And here, fellow-citizens, in Boston, — here, in Faneuil Hall, 
last place of all, — and amongst you, last people of all, is such 
a ceremony needed. I have only to say, that Daniel Webster, 
the faithful representative, the manly and able statesman, your 
feUow-citizen and friend, is before you, and I leave his name 
to do the rest. 

MR. WEBSTER'S SPEECH. 

Mr. Webster then stepped forward and said : 
I know not how it is, Mr. Mayor, but there is something in 
the echoes of these walls, or in this sea of upturned faces which 
I behold before me, or in the genius that always hovers over this 
place, fanning ardent and patiiotic feeling by every motion of 
its wings. — I know not how it is, but there is sometliing that 
excites me strangely, deeply, before I even began to speak. It 
cannot be doubted that this salutation and gi-eeting from my 
fellow citizens of Boston, is a tribute dear to my heart. Boston 
is indeed my home, my cherished home. It is now more than 
twenty-five years since I came to it with my family to pursue, 
here in this enlightened metropolis, those objects of professional 
life for which my studies and education were designed to fit me. 
It is t\venty years since I was invited by the citizens of Boston 



8 



to take upon myself an office of public trust in their service. It 
gives me infinite pleasure to see here, to-day, among those who 
hold the seats yielded to such as are more advanced in life, not 
a few of the gentlemen who were earnestly instrumental in 
inducing me to enter upon a course of life wholly unexpected, 
and to devote myself to the service of the public. 

Whenever the duties of public life have withdi-awn me from 
this home, I have felt it, nevertheless, to be the attractive spot to 
which all local affection tended. And now that the progi'ess of 
time must shortly bring about the period, if it should not be 
hastened by the progress of events, when the duties of public 
Hfe shall yield to the influences of advancing years, I cherish 
no hope more precious, than to pass here in these associations 
and among these friends, what may remain to me of life ; and 
to leave in the midst of you, fellow citizens, partaking of your 
fortunes, whether for good or for evil, those who bear my name, 
and inherit my blood. (Repeated cheering.) 

The Mayor has spoken very kindly of the exertions which I 
have made since I have held a position in the Cabinet, and es- 
pecially upon the results of the negotiation in which I have been 
recently engaged. I hope, fellow citizens, that something has 
been done which may prove permanently useful to the public. 
I have endeavored to do something, and I hope my endeavors 
have not been in vain. I have had a hard summer's work, it is 
true, but I am not wholly unused to hard work. I have had 
some anxious days, I have spent some sleepless nights ; but if 
the results of my efforts meet the approbation of the community, 
I am richly compensated. (Applause.) My other days will be 
the happier, and my other nights will be given to a sweeter 
repose. 

It was an object of the highest national importance, no doubt, 
to disperse the clouds which threatened a storm between England 
and America. For several years past there has been a class of 
questions open betw^een the two countries, which have not al- 
ways threatened war, but which have not assured the people of 
permanent peace. 

I will but advert to him to whom so just a tiibute has been 
paid by the Mayor, by whom, in 1841, I was called to the place 



I now occupy ; and although, gentlemen, I know it is in very- 
bad taste to speak much of one's self, yet here, among my friends 
and neighbors, I wish to say a word or two on a subject in which 
I am concerned. (Loud cheers.) With the late President 
HaiTison, I had contracted an acquaintance while we were both 
members of Congress, and I had an opportunity of renewing it 
afterwards in his own house, and elsewhere. I have made no 
exhibition, or boast, of the confidence which it was his pleasure 
to repose in me ; but circumstances, hardly Avorthy of serious 
notice, have rendered it not improper for me to say on this oc- 
casion, that as soon as President Harrison was elected, with- 
out, of com*se, one word from me, he WTote to me inviting me to 
tallvc a place in his Cabinet, leaving to me the choice of that 
place, and asking my advice as to the persons that should fill 
every other place in it. (Cheers.) He expressed rather a wish 
that I should take the administration of the Treasury, because, 
as he was pleased to say, I had devoted myself with success to 
the examination of the questions of cmTency and finance, and 
he felt that the wants of the country, — the necessities of the 
country, on the great subjects of currency and finance, were 
moving causes that produced the revolution wliich had placed 
him in the presidential chair. 

It so happened, gentlemen, that my preference was for the 
other place, — for that which I have now the honor to fill. I felt 
all its responsibilities ; but I must say, that with whatever atten- 
tion I had considered the general question of finance, I felt more 
competent and willing to undertake the duties of an office which 
did not involve the daily diaidgery of the Treasmy. 

I Was not disappointed, gentlemen, in the exigency which 
then existed in our foreign relations. I was not unaware of all 
the difficulties which hung over us ; for although the whole of the 
danger was not at that moment developed, the cause of it was 
known, and it seemed as if an outbreak was sure to be at hand. 
I allude now to that occurrence on the frontier of which the 
Chairman has akeady spoken, which took place in the winter of 
1841, — the case of Alexander McLeod. 

A year or two before, the British government had seen fit to 
authorize a military incursion, for a particular purpose, within 
2 



10 

the territory of the United States ; that purpose was to destroy a 
steamboat, charged with being employed for hostile purposes, 
against its forces and its peaceable subjects in Canada. The act 
was avowed by the British Government, as a public act. Alex- 
ander McLeod, a person who individually could claim no regard 
or sympathy, happened to be one of the agents who, in a mili- 
tary character, performed the act of their sovereign. Coming into 
the United States some yeai-s after, he was arrested under a 
charge of homicide committed in this act, and was held to ti'ial 
as for a private felony. 

According to my apprehensions, a proceeding of this kind was 
directly adverse to the well settled doctrines of the public law. 
It could not but be received with lively indignation, not only by 
Her Majesty's Government, but among the people of her Gov- 
ernment. It woul.d be so received among us. If a citizen of 
the United States, by order of his Government, and as a mili- 
tary man, should receive an order and obey it, (which he must 
either obey or be hanged,) and should afterwards in the territory 
of another power, which by that act hb had offended, be tried for 
a violation of its law, as for a crime, and threatened with indi- 
vidual punishment, there is not a man in the United States 
who would not cry out for redi-ess and for vengeance. Any 
elevated Government, in a case Wke this, where one of its citi- 
zens, in the performance of his duty, incurs such menaces and 
danger, assumes the responsibility ; any elevated Government 
says : " The act was mine — I am the man ; " as in the story of 
Nisus and Euryalus, '■^ adsiim qui feci, in me convertite ferrumP 

Now, gentlemen, information of the action of the British gov- 
ernment on this subject was ti'ansmitted to us at Washington 
within a few days after the installation of General Harrison. I 
did not think that it was proper to make public then, nor is it im- 
portant to say now, all that we knew on the subject ; but I will tell 
you, in general terms, that if all that was known at Washington, 
then, had been communicated throughout the country, the ship- 
ping interest of this city, and every other interest connected with 
the commerce of the country, would have been depressed one half 
in six hours. I thought that the concussion might be averted, by 
holding up to view the principle of public law, by which this 



11 



question ought to be settled, and by demanding an apology for 
whatever had been done against the principles of public law 
by the British government or its officers. (Cheers.) I thought 
we ought to put ourselves right in the first place, and then 
we could insist that they should do right in the next place. 
(Laughter and cheering.) "When in England, in the year 1839, 
I had occasion to address a large assemblage of English per- 
sonages ; and allusion having been made to the relations of 
things between the two countries, I stated then, w^hat I thought 
and now think, that in any controversy which should terminate 
in war between the United States and England, the only emi- 
nent advantage that either would possess, w^ould be found in the 
rectitude of its cause. With the right on our side, we are a 
match for England; and with the right on her side, she is a 
match for us, or for any body. (Laughter and cheers.) 

We live in an age, fellow citizens, when there has come into 
exercise, and into judgment, a more elevated U-ibunal than ever 
before existed on earth ; I mean the tribunal of the enlightened 
public opinion of the world. Nations cannot go to war now, 
either with or without the consent of their own subjects or peo- 
ple, without the reprobation of other States, unless for grounds 
and reasons justifying them in the general judgment of mankind. 
The influence of civilization, of commerce, and of that heavenly 
light that beams over Christendom, restrains men, congresses, 
parliaments, princes and people, from gratifying the inordinate 
love of ambition through the bloody scenes of war. (Cheers.) 
It has been ^visely said, and it is true, that every settlement of 
national differences between Christian States, on fair negotiation, 
without resort to arms, is a new tribute, and a new proof of the 
benign influence of the Cliristian faith. 

With regard to the terms of this treaty, and in relation to the 
other subjects connected with it, it is somewhat awkward for 
me to speak, because the documents connected with them have 
not been made public by authority. But I persuade myself, that 
when the whole shall be calmly considered, it will be seen that 
there was tlixoughout a fervent disposition to maintain the inter- 
est and honor of the country, united with a proper regard for the 
preservation of peace between us and the greatest commercial 
nation of the world. 



12 



Gentlemen, while I receive these commendations which you 
have bestowed, I have an agreeable duty to perform to others. 
In the first place, I have great pleasure in bearing testimony to 
the intelligent attention manifested by the President of the United 
States, under whose authority, of course, I constantly acted 
throughout the negotiation, and his sincere and anxious desire 
that it might result successfully. I take great pleasm-e in ac- 
knowledging here, as I will acknowledge every where, my obli- 
gations to him for the unbroken and steady Confidence reposed 
in me, through the whole progress of an aifair, not unimportant 
to the country, and infinitely important to my own reputation. 

A negotiator disparaged, distrusted, treated with jealousy by 
his own Government, Avere indeed a very unequal match for a 
cool and sagacious representative of one of the proudest and 
most powerful monarchies of Em-ope, possessing in the fullest 
extent the confidence of his Government, and authorized to 
bind it in concerns of the greatest importance. I shall never for- 
get the frankness and generosity with which, after a full and free 
interchange of suggestions upon the subject, I was told that on 
my shoulders rested the responsibility of the negotiation, and on 
my discretion and judgment should rest the lead of every meas- 
ure. (Cheers.) I desire also to speak here of the hearty coop- 
eration rendered every day by the other gentlemen connected 
with the administration, from every one of whom I received im- 
portant assistance. I speak with satisfaction, also, of the useful 
labors of all the Commissioners, although I need hardly say here, 
what has been already said officially, that the highest respect is 
due to the Commissioners from Maine and Massachusetts for 
their faithful adherence to the rights of then- own States, mingled 
with a cordial cooperation in what was requned by the general 
interests of the United States. And I hope I cjhall not be con- 
sidered as trespassing on this occasion, if I speak of the happy 
selection made by England, of a person to represent her Govern- 
ment on this occasion — a thorough Engfishman, understanding 
and appreciating the great objects and interests of his own Gov- 
ernment, of large and liberal views, and of such standing and 
weight of character at home, as to impress a feeling of approba- 
tion of his course upon both government and people. He was 



13 

fully acquainted with the subject, and always, on all occasions, 
as far as his allegiance and duty permitted, thought and acted 
favorably of and towards this country. 

Aside from the question of the boundary, there were other im- 
portant subjects to be considered, which I know not whether this 
is a proper occasion to allude to. When the results of the ne- 
gotiation shall be fully before the public, it will be seen that these 
other questions have not been neglected, questions of great mo- 
ment and importance to the country ; and then I shall look with 
concern, but with faith and trust, for the judgment of that country 
upon them. It is but just to take notice of a very important act, 
intended to provide for such cases as McLeod's, for which the 
country is indebted to the Whig majorities, in the two Houses 
of Congress, acting upon the President's recommendation. 
Events showed the absolute necessity of removing into the na- 
tional tribunals questions involving the peace and honor of the 
country. 

There yet remain, gentlemen, several other subjects still un- 
settled with England. Fu'st, there is that concerning the trade 
between the United States and the possessions of England, on 
this continent, and in the West Indies. It has been my duty to 
look into that subject, and to keep the run of it, as we say, from 
the arrangement of 1829 and 1830, until the present time. That 
arrangement was one unfavorable to the shipping interests of 
the United States, and especially so to the New-England States. 
To adjust these relations is an important subject, either for di- 
plomatic negotiation, or the consideration of Congress. One or 
both houses of Congi-ess, indeed, has akeady called upon the 
proper department for a report upon the operations of that ar- 
rangement, and a committee of the House of Representatives 
has made a report, showing that some adjustment of these rela- 
tions is of vital importance to the futm'e prosperity of our navi- 
gating interests. 

There is another question, somewhat more remote ; that of the 
North-west Boundary, where the possessions of the two coun- 
tries touch each other upon the Pacific. There are evident pub- 
lic reasons why that question should be settled before the coun- 
ti-y becomes peopled. 



14 

There are also, gentlemen, many open questions respecting 
our relations with other governments. Upon most of the other 
States of this continent, citizens of the United States have 
claims, with regard to which the delays already incurred have 
caused great injustice ; and it becomes the Government of the 
United States, by a calm and dignified course, and a deliberate 
and vigorous tone of administi-ation of public affairs, to secure 
prompt justice to om- citizens in these quarters. 

I am here to-day as a guest. I was invited by a number of 
highly valued personal and political friends, to partake with them 
of a public dinner, for the purpose of giving them an opportunity 
to pass the usual greeting of friends upon my return ; of testify- 
ing their respect for my public services heretofore, and of tender- 
ing congratulations upon the results of the late negotiation. It 
was at my instance that this proposed dinner took the form of 
this meeting, and instead of meeting them at the festive board, I 
agreed to meet them and those who chose to meet me with them, 
here. Still, the general character of the meeting seems not to be 
changed. I am here as a guest ; here to receive greetings and 
salutations for particular services, and not under any intimation 
or expectation that I should address the gentlemen who invited 
me or others here, upon subjects not suggested by themselves. 
It would not become me to use the occasion for any more gen- 
eral purpose. Because, although I have a design at some time 
not far distant, to make known my sentiments upon political 
matters generally, and upon the political state of the country, 
and that of its several parties, yet I know very well that I should 
be trespassing beyond the bounds of politeness and propriety, 
should I enter upon this whole wide field now. I will not enter 
upon it, because the gentlemen who invited me entertain on 
many of these topics, views different from my own, and they 
would very properly say, that they came here to meet Mr. Web- 
ster, to congratulate him upon the late negotiation, and to ex- 
change sentiments upon matters about which they agreed with 
him ; and that it was not in very correct taste for him to use the 
occasion to express sentiments upon other subjects on which 
they differ. It is on that account that I shall forbear discussing 
political subjects at large, and shall endeavor to confine my re- 



15 

marks to that which may be considered as affecting myself, di- 
rectly or indirectly. 

The Mayor was kind enough to say, that having, in his judg- 
ment, performed the duties of my own department to the 
satisfaction of my country, it might be left to me to take care of 
my own honor and reputation. (Cheers.) I suppose that he 
meant to say, that in the present distracted state of the Whig 
party, and among the contrariety of opinions that prevail (if there 
be a contrariety of opinion) as to the course proper for me to 
pursue, the decision of that question might be left to myself. I 
am exactly of his opinion. (Loud and continued applause, 
concluded by three regular cheers.) I am quite of opinion that 
on a question touching my own honor and character, as I am to 
bear the consequences of the decision, I had a great deal better 
be trusted to make it. ( Cheers.) No man feels more highly the 
advantage of the advice of friends than I do ; but on a question 
delicate and important like that, I like to choose myself the 
friends who are to give me advice ; and upon this subject, gen- 
tlemen, I shall leave you as enlightened as I found you. 

I give no pledges, I make no intimations, one way or the 
other ; and I will be as free, when this day closes, to act as duty 

calls, as I was when the dawn of this day (Here Mr.W. was 

inten-upted by ti-emendous applause, ending with three times 
three cheers. When silence was restored he continued :) 

There is a delicacy in the case, because there is always deli- 
cacy and regret when one feels obliged to differ from his friends ; 
but there is no embarrassment. There is no embarrassment, be- 
cause if I see the path of duty before me, I have that wdthin me 
which will enable me to pursue it, and throw ah embarrassment 
to the winds. (Renewed cheering.) A public man has no oc- 
casion to be embaiTassed, if he is honest. Himself and his feel- 
ings should be to him as nobody and as nothing ; the interest of 
his country must be to him as every thing ; (cheers ;) he must 
sink what is personal to himself, making exertions for his coun- 
try ; and it is his ability and readiness to do this, which is to 
mark him as a great or as a little man in time to come. (Cheers.) 

There were many persons in September, 1841, who found 
great fault with my remaining in the President's Cabinet. You 



16 

know, gentlemen, that twenty years of honest, and not ahogether 
undistinguished service in the Whig cause, did not save me from 
an outpoming of wrath, which seldom proceeds from "Whig pens 
and Whig tongues against any body, I am, gentlemen, a little 
hard to coax, but as to being driven, that is out of the question. 
(Laughter.) I chose to trust my own judgment, and thinldng I 
was in a post where I was in the service of the country, and 
could do it good, I staid there. (Cheers.) And I leave it to you 
to-day to say, I leave it to my country to say, whether the country 
would have been better oft' if I had left also. (Renewed cheer- 
ing.) I have no attachment to office. I have tasted of its sweets, 
but I have tasted of its bitterness. I am content with what I 
have achieved ; I am more ready to rest satisfied with what is 
gained, than to run the risk of doubtful eff"orts for new acquisi- 
tion. (Cheers.) 

I suppose I ought to pause here. (Cries of "go on.") I 
ought, perhaps, to allude to nothing more, and I will not allude 
to any thing further than it may be supposed to concern myself, 
directly or by implication. Crentlemen, and Mr. Mayor, a most 
respectable convention of Whig delegates met in this place a 
few days since, and passed very important resolutions. There 
is no set of gentlemen in the commonwealth, so far as I know 
them, who have more of my respect and regard. They are 
Whigs, but they are no better Whigs than I am. They have 
served the country in the W^hig ranks, — so have I, quite as long 
as most of them, perhaps with less ability and success. Their 
resolutions on political subjects, as representing the Whigs of 
the State, are entitled to respect, so far as they were authorized 
to express opinion on those subjects, and no further. They 
were sent hither, as I supposed, to agi-ee upon candidates for 
the offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor for the sup- 
port of the Whigs of Massachusetts ; and if they had any au- 
thority to speak in the name of the Whigs of Massachusetts to 
any other purport or intent, I have not been informed erf it. I 
feel very little disturbed by any of those proceedings, of what- 
ever natm-e ; but some of them appear to me to have been in- 
considerate and hasty, and their point and bearing can hardly 
be mistaken. I notice among others, a declaration made in be- 



17 



half of all the Whigs of this commonwealth, of " a full and final 
separation from the President of the United States." If those 
gentlemen saw fit to express then- own sentiments to that extent, 
there was no objection. Whigs speak their sentiments every 
where ; but whether they may assume a privilege to speak for 
others on a point on which those others have not given them au- 
thority, is another question. I am a Whig, I ^.Iways have been 
a Whig, and I always will be one ; (tremendous cheering ;) and 
if there are any "who would tiu'n me out of the pale of that com- 
munion, let them see who will get out first. (Laughter and 
cheers.) I am a Massachusetts Whig, a Faneuil Hall Whig, 
(renewed cheering,) having breathed this air for five and twenty 
years, and meaning to breathe it, as long as God spares my life. 
I am ready to submit to aU decisions of Whig Conventions on 
subjects on which they are authorized to malie decisions ; I know 
that great party good and great public good can only be so ob- 
tained. But it is quite another question whether a set of gentle- 
men, however respectable they may be as individuals, shall have 
the power to bind me on matters which I have not agreed to sub- 
mit to their decision at all. 

"A full and final separation " is declared between the Whig 
party of Massachusetts and the President. That is the text : — 
it requires a commentary. What does it mean ? The Presi- 
dent of the United States has three years of his term of office 
yet unexpu'ed. Does this declaration mean then, that dm-ing 
those three years aU the measures of his administration are to be 
opposed by the great body of the Whig party of Massachusetts, 
whether they are right or WTong ? There are great pubHc inter- 
ests which require his attention. 

If the President of the United States should attempt, by 
negotiation, or by earnest and serious application to Congress, 
to make some change in the present arrangements, such as 
should be of service to those interests of navigation which are 
concerned in the colonial trade, are the Whigs of Massachu- 
setts to give him neither aid nor succor ? ( Cries of No ! No !) 
If the President of the United States shall direct the proper 
department to review the whole commercial policy of the United 
States, in respect of reciprocity in the indirect trade, to which so 
3 



18 

much of our tonnage is now sacrificed, — if the amendment 
of this policy shall be undertaken by him, — is there such a 
separation between him and the Whigs of Massachusetts as 
shall lead them and their representatives to oppose it? (No! 
No !) Do you know (there are gentlemen now here who do 
know) that a large proportion — I rather think that more than 
one half — of the carrying trade between the empire of Brazil 
and the United States, is enjoyed by tonnage from the north 
of Europe, in consequence of this ill-considered principle with \ 
regard to reciprocity. You might just as well admit them into 
the coasting trade. By this arrangement, we take the bread out 
of our childi-en's mouths and give it to strangers. I appeal to 
you. Sir, (turning to Captain Benjamin Rich, who sat by him ;) 
is not this true ? (Mr. Rich at once replied. True !) 

(Mr. Webster continued.) Is every measure of this sort, for 
the relief of such abuses, to be rejected ? Are we to suffer our- 
selves to remain inactive under every grievance of this kind, 
until these three years shall expire, and through as many more 
as shall pass until Providence shall bless us with more power 
of doing good than we have now ? f 

Again : there are now in this State, persons employed under 
government, allowed to be pretty good Whigs, still holding their 
offices : Collectors, District Attorneys, Post Masters, Marshals. 
What is to become of them in this separation? Which side 
are they to fall? (Laughter.) Are they to resign? or is this 
resolution to be held up to government as an invitation or a 
provocation to turn them out ? Our distinguished fellow-citizen, 
who, with so much credit to himself and to his country, represents 
our government in England, — is he expected to come home, 
on this separation, and yield his place to his predecessor, or to 
somebody else ? And in regard to the individual who addi-esses 
you — what do his brother Whigs mean to do with him? 
Where do they mean to place me? (Laughter.) Generally, 
when a divorce takes place, the parties divide their children. 
I am anxious to know, where, in the case of this divorce, I shall 
fall. (Laughter.) This declaration denounces a full and final 
separation between the Whigs of Massachusetts and the Presi- 
dent. If I choose to remain in the President's counsels, do 



19 



these gentlemen mean to say that I cease to be a Massachusetts 
Whig? I am quite ready to put that question to the people 
of Massachusetts. 

I would not treat this matter too lightly, nor yet too seriously. 
1 know very well that, when public bodies get together, resolu- 
tions can never be considered with any degree of deliberation. 
They are passed as they are presented.- Who the honorable 
gentlemen were, who drew this resolution, I do not know. 
I suspect that they had not much meaning in it, and that they 
have not very clearly defined what little meaning they had. 
They w^ere angry ; they were resentful ; they had drawn up 
'a string of charges against the President, — a bill of indictment, 
as it were, — and, to close the whole, they introduced this dec- 
laration about " a full and final separation." I could not- read 
this, of course, without perceiving that it had an intentional or 
unintentional bearing on my position; and therefore it was 
proper for me to allude to it here. 

Gentlemen, there are some topics on which it has been my 
fortune to differ from my old friends. They may be right on 
these topics ; very probably they are ; but I am sm-e I am right 
in maintaining my opinions, such as they are, when I have 
formed them honestly and on deliberation. There seems to me 
to be a disposition to postpone all attempts to do good to the 
country to some future and uncertain day. Yet there is a 
Whig majority in each house of Congress, and I am of opinion 
that the time is now to accomplish what yet remains to be 
accomplished. (Applause.) Some gentlemen are for suffering 
the present Congress to expne ; another Congress to be chosen, 
and to expire also ; a third Congress to be chosen, and then, 
if there shall be a Whig majority in both branches, and a 
Whig President, they propose to take up highly important and 
pressing subjects. 

These are persons, gentlemen, of more sanguine temperament 
than myself. " Confidence," says Lord Chatham, " is a plant 
of slow growth in an old bosom." He referred to confidence 
in men, but the remark is as true of confidence in predictions 
of future occurrences. Many Whigs see before us a prospect 
of more power, and a better chance to serve the country, than 



20 

we now possess. Far along in the horizon, they discern mild 
skies and halcyon seas, while fogs and darloiess and mists 
blind other sons of humanity from beholding all this bright 
vision. It was not so that we accomplished om' last great 
victory, by simply brooding over a glorious Whig future. We 
succeeded in 1840, but not without an effort ; and I know that 
nothing but union — cordial, sympathetic, fraternal union — can 
prevent the party that achieved that success from renewed pros- 
tration. It is not, — I would say it in the presence of the 
world, — it is not by premature and partial, by prescriptive and 
denunciatory proceedings, that this great Whig family can ever 
be kept together, or that Whig counsels can maintain their 
ascendancy. This is perfectly plain and obvious. It was a 
party from the first, made up of different opinions and principles, 
of gentlemen of every political complexion, uniting to make a 
change in the administration. There were men of strong state 
rights principles ; men of strong federal principles ; men of ex- 
treme tariff, and men of extreme anti-tariff, notions. What could 
be expected of such a party, unless animated by a spirit of con- 
ciliation and harmony, of union and sympathy ? Its true policy 
was, from the first, and must be, unless it meditates its own 
destruction, to heal, and not to widen, the breaches that existed 
in its ranks. It consented to become united in order to save 
the country from a continuation of a ruinous course of meas- 
ures. And the lesson taught by the whole history of the revo- 
lution of 1840 is, the momentous value of conciliation, friend- 
ship, sympathy, and union. 

Gentlemen, if I understand the matter, there were four or five 
great objects in that revolution. And in the first place, one 
great object was that of attempting to secure permanent peace 
between this country and England. For although, as I have 
said, we were not actually at war, we were subjected to per- 
petual agitations, which disturb the interests of the country 
almost as much as war. They break in upon men's pursuits, 
and render them incapable of calculating or judging of their 
chances of success in any proposed line or course of business. 
A settled peace was one of the objects of that revolution. I 
am glad if you think this is accomplished. 



21 

The next object of that revolution was an increase of revenue. 
It was notorious that, for the several last years, the expenditures 
for the administration of government had exceeded the receipts ; 
in other words, government had been running in debt, and in 
the mean time, the operation of the compromise act was still 
further and faster diminishing the revenue itself. A sound 
revenue was one of those objects ; and that it has been accom- 
plished, our thanks and praise are due to the Congi-ess that has 
just adjourned. (Applause.) 

A third object was protection — protection incidental to reve- 
nue, or consequent upon revenue. Now as to that, gentlemen, 
much has been done, and I hope it will be found that enough 
has been done. And for this, too, all the Whigs who supported 
that measure in Congress are entitled to high praise ; they re- 
ceive mine, and I hope they do yom's; it is right that they 
should. But let us be just. The French rhetoricians have a 
maxim that there is nothing beautiful that is not true: I am 
afraid that some of our jubilant oratory would hardly stand the 
test of this canon of criticism. It is not true that a majority, 
composed of Whigs, could be found, in either House, in favor 
of the Tariff Bill. More than thirty Whigs, many of them 
gentlemen of lead and influence, voted against the law, from 
beginning to end, on all questions, direct and indirect ; and it is 
not pleasant to consider what would have been the state of the 
country, the Treasury, and the Government itself, at this moment, 
if the law actually passed, for revenue and for protection, had de- 
pended on Whig votes alone. After all, it passed the House of 
Representatives by a single vote ; and there is a good deal of eclat 
about that single vote. But did not every gentleman who voted 
for it take the responsibihty and deserve the honor of that single 
vote ? Several gentlemen in the opposition thus befriended the 
bill ; thus did our neighbor from the Middlesex district of this 
State, (Mr. Parmenter,) voting for the Tariff out and out as 
steadily as did my honored friend, the member from this city. 
We hear nothing of his " coming to the rescue," and yet he had 
that one vote, and held the tariff in his hand as absolutely as 
if he had had a Presidential veto! And how was it in the 
Senate 1 It passed by one vote again there, and could not have 



22 

passed at all, without the assistance of the two senators from 
Pennsylvania, of Mr. Williams of Maine, and Mr. Wright of 
New York. Let us then admit the truth, (and a lawyer may 
do that when it helps his case,) (laughter,) that it was necessary 
that a large portion of the other party should come to the assist- 
ance of the Whigs, to enable them to carry the tariff, and that 
if this assistance had not been rendered, the tariff must have 
failed. 

And this is a very important truth for New England. Her 
children, looking to their manufactures and industry for their 
livelihood, must rejoice to find the tariff, so necessary to these, 
no party question. Can they desire, can they wish, that such 
a great object as the protection of industry should become a 
party object, rising with party, and, with the failure of the party 
that supported it, going to the grave? (Cries of No! No!) 
This is a national, a public question. The tariff ought to be 
inwrought in the sentiments of all parties ; and although I hope 
that the preeminence of Whig principles may be eternal, I wish 
to take bond and security, that w^e may make the protection 
of domestic industry more durable even than Whig supremacy. 

(Cheers.) 

Let us be true in another respect. This tariff has accom- 
plished much, and is an honor to the men who passed it. But, 
in regard to protection, it has only restored the country to the 
state in which it was before the compromise act, and from 
which it fell under the operation of that act. It has repaired 
the consequences of that measure, and it has done no more. 
I may speak of the compromise act. My turn has come now. 
(Laughter.) No measure ever passed Congress during my con- 
nection with that body that caused me so much grief and mor- 
tification. It was passed by a few friends joining the whole 
host of the enemy. I have heard much of the motives of that 
act. The personal motives of those that passed the act were, 
I doubt not, pure ; and all public men are supposed to act from 
pure motives. (Laughter.) But if by motives are meant the 
objects proposed by the act itself, and expressed in it, then I say, 
if those be the motives alluded to, they are worse than the act 
itself. The principle was bad, the measure was bad, the conse- 



23 



quences were bad. Every circumstance, as well as every line of 
the act itself, shows that the design was to impose upon legisla- 
tion a restraint that the constitution had not imposed ; to insert 
in the constitution a new prohibitory clause, providing that, after 
the year 1842, no revenue should be collected except according 
to an absurd horizontal system, and none exceeding twenty per 
cent. It was then pressed through under the great emergency 
of the public necessities. But I may now recur to what I then 
said, namely, that its principle was false and dangerous, and 
that, when its time came, it would rack and convulse our sys- 
tem. I said we should not get rid of it without throes and 
spasms. 

Has not this been as predicted ? We have felt the spasms 
and throes of this convulsion ; but we have at last gone through 
them, and begin to breathe again. It is something, that that act 
is at last got rid of ; and the present tariff is deserving in this, 
that it is specific and discriminating, that it holds to common 
sense, and rejects and discards the principles of the compromise 
act, I hope, for ever. (Cheers.) 

Another great and principal object of the revolution of 1840, 
was a restoration of the currency. Our troubles did not begin 
with want of money in the ti'easury, or under the sapping and 
mining operation of the compromise act. They are of earlier 
date. The trouble and distress of the country began with the 
currency in 1833, and broke out with new severity in 1837. 
Other causes of difficulty have since arisen, but the first great 
shock, was a shock on the currency ; and from the effect of this 
the country is not yet relieved. I hope the late act may yield 
competent revenue, and am sure it will do much for protection. 
But until you provide a better currency, so that you may have 
a universal one, of equal and general value throughout the 
land, I am hard to be persuaded that we shall see the day of our 
former prosperity. Currency, accredited currency, and easy and 
cheap internal exchanges — until these things be obtained, de- 
pend upon it, the country will find no adequate relief. 

And now, fellow citizens, I will say a word or two on the his- 
tory of the transactions on this subject. At the special session of 
Congress, the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Ewing, aiTanged a 



24 

plan for a national bank. That plan was founded upon the idea 
of a large capital, furnished mainly by private subscriptions, and 
included branches for local discounts. I need not advert, gentle- 
men, to the circumstances under which this scheme was drawn 
up, and received, as it did, the approbation of the President and 
Cabinet, as the best thing that could be done. I need not re- 
mind you that he had been called to the head of the government, 
whom we had all agreed should hold the second place in it. I 
need not say that he held opinions wholly different from mine on 
these subjects which now came before us. But those opinions 
were fixed, and therefore it was thought the part of wisdom and 
prudence not to see how strong a case might be made against 
the President, but to get along as well as we might. With such 
views, Mr. E\\ang presented his plan to Congress. As most 
persons will remember, the clause allowdng the bank to establish 
branches, provided that those branches might be placed in any 
State which should give its consent. I have no idea that there 
is any necessity for such a restriction. I believe Congress has 
the power to establish the branches without as well as with the 
consent of the States. But that clause, at most, was theoretical. 
I never could find any body who could show any practical mis- 
chief resulting from it. Its opponents went upon the theory, 
which I do not exactly accord with, that in any case, an omis- 
sion to exercise a power, amounts to a surrender of that power. 
At any rate, it was the best thing that covdd be done ; and its re- 
jection was the commencement of the disastrous dissensions be- 
tween the President and Congress. 

Gentlemen, it was exceedingly doubtful at the time when that 
plan was prepared, whether the capital would be subscribed. 
But we did what we could about it. "We asked the opinion of 
the leading merchants of the principal commercial cities. They 
were invited to Washington to confer with us. They expressed 
doubts whether the bank could be put into operation, but they 
expressed hopes also, and they pledged themselves to do the best 
they could to advance it. And as the commercial interests were 
in its favor, as the administration was new and fresh and popu- 
lar, and the people were desuous to have something done, a 
great earnestness was felt that that bill should be tried. 



25 

It was sent to the Senate at the Senate's request, and by the 
Senate it was rejected. Another bill was reported in the Senate, 
without the provision requiring the consent of the States to 
branches, — was discussed for six weeks or two months, and 
then could not pass even a Whig Senate. Here was the origin 
of distrust, disunion, and resentment. 

I will not pursue the unhappy narrative of the latter part of 
the session of 1841. Men had begun to grow excited and angry 
and resentful. I expressed the opinion, at an early period, to all 
those to whom I was entitled to speak, that it would be a great 
deal better to forbear fm-ther action at present ; — that opinion as 
expressed to the two Whig Senators from Massachusetts is be- 
fore the public. I wished Congress to give time for consuhation 
to take place, for harmony to be restored ; because I looked for 
no good, but to the united and harmonious action of all the 
branches of the Whig government. I suppose that counsel was 
not good, certainly it was not followed. I need not add the 
comment. 

This brings us, as far as concerns the questions of cmi-ency, 
to the last session of Congi-ess. Early in that session the Sec- 
retary of the Treasury sent in a plan of an exchequer. It met 
with little favor in either House, and therefore it is necessary for 
me, gentlemen, lest the whole burden fall on others, to say that 
it met my hearty, sincere, and entire approbation. (Cheers.) 
Gentlemen, I hope that I have not manifested through my pubhc 
life a very overweening confidence in my own judgment, or a 
very unreasonable unwiUingness to accept the views of others. 
But there ai-e some subjects on which I feel entitled to pay some 
respect to my own opinion. The subject of currency, gentlemen, 
has been the study of my life. Thnty years ago, a little before 
my entrance into the councils of the Government, the questions 
connected with a mixed currency, involving the proper relation 
of paper to specie, and the proper means of restricting an exces- 
sive issue of paper, came to be discussed by the most acute and 
well disciplined understandings in England in Parliament. At 
that time, during the suspension of specie payments by the bank, 
when paper was fifteen per cent, below par, IVIi*. Vansittai't had 
presented his celebrated resolution declaring that a bank note 
4 



26 

was still worth the value expressed on its face — that the bank 
note had not depreciated, but that the price of bullion had risen. 
Lord Liverpool and Lord Castlereagh espoused this view, as we 
know, and it was opposed by the close reasoning of Huskisson, 
the powerful logic of Horner, and the practical common sense of 
Alexander Baring, now Lord Ashburton. (Applause.) The 
study of those debates made me a bullionist. They convinced 
me that paper could not circulate safely in any country, any lon- 
ger than it was immediately redeemable at the place of its issue. 
Coming into Congress the very next year, or the next but one 
after, and finding the finances of the country in a most deplora- 
ble condition, I then and ever after bestowed myself, in prefer- 
ence to all other public topics, to the consideration of the 
questions relating to them. I believe I have read every thing of 
value that has been published since on those questions, on either 
side of the Atlantic. I have studied by close observation, the 
laws of paper currency as they have exhibited themselves in this 
and in other countries, from ISll down to the present time. I 
have expressed my opinions at various times in Congress, and 
some of the predictions which I have made have not been alto- 
gether falsified by subsequent events. I must therefore be 
permitted, gentlemen, without yielding to any flippant paragraph 
of a newspaper, or to the hasty ebullitions of debate in a public 
assembly, to say, that I believe the plan for an Exchequer as pre- 
sented to Congress at its last session, is the best measure — the 
only measure for the adoption of Congress and the trial of the 
people. I am ready to stake my reputation upon it, and that is 
all that I have to stake. I am ready to stake my reputation, that 
if this Whig Congress Avill take that measure and give it a fair 
trial, within three years it will be admitted by the whole Ameri- 
can people to be the most beneficial measure of any sort ever 
adopted in this country, the Constitution only excepted. ( Cheers.) 
I mean that they should take it as it was when it came from the 
Cabinet, not as it looked when the Committees of Congress had 
laid their hands upon it. (Laughter.) For when the Commit- 
tees of Congress had struck out the proviso respecting exchange, 
it was not worth a rush ; it was not worth the parchment it would 
be engrossed upon. The great desire of this country is a general 



27 



currency, a facility of exchange ; a currency which shall be the 
same for you and for the people of Alabama, and Louisiana ; 
and a system of exchange which shall equalize credit between 
them and you, with the rapidity and facility with which steam 
conveys men and merchandise. That is what the country wants, 
what you want, and you have not got it. 

You have not got it, you cannot get it, but by some adequate 
provision of government. Exchange, ready exchange that will 
enable a man to turn his New Orleans means into money to- 
day, as we have had in better times — millions a year exchanged, 
at only three quarters of one per cent, is what is wanted. How 
are we to obtain this ? A Bank of the United States founded 
on a private subscription is out of the question. That is an ob- 
solete idea. The country and the condition of things have 
changed. Suppose that a bank were chartered with a capital of 
fifty millions, to be raised by private subscription. Would it not 
be out of all possibility to find the money ? Who would sub- 
scribe ? What w^ould you get for shares ? And as for the local 
discount, do you wish it ? Do you, in State street, wish that the 
nation should send millions of untaxed banking capital hither to 
increase your discounts ? What then shall we do ? People 
who are waiting for power to make a Bank of the United States, 
may as well postpone all attempts to benefit the country to the 
incoming of the Jews. (Laughter.) 

What then shall we do ? Let us turn to this plan of the 
Exchequer, brought forward last year. It was assailed from all 
quarters. One gentleman did say, I believe, that by some 
possibility, some good might come out of it, (laughter,) but 
in general, it met with a different opposition from every different 
class. Some said it would be a perfectly lifeless machine, — 
that it was no system at all, — that it would do nothing, for 
good or evU ; others thought that it had a great deal too much 
vitality, admitting that it would answer the purpose perfectly 
weU for which it was designed, but fearing that it would in- 
crease the executive power : thus making it at once King Log 
and King Serpent. One party called it a ridiculous imbecility ; 
the other, a dangerous giant, that might subvert the constitution. 
These varied arguments, contradicting, if not refuting one 



28 



another, convinced me of one thing at least, — that the bill 
would not be adopted, nor even temperately and candidly con- 
sidered. And it was not. In a manner quite unusual, it was 
discussed, assailed, denounced, before it was allowed to take 
the course of reference and examination. It is extraordinary, 
what difficulties we meet in carrying out our system of con- 
stitutional government. The constitution was intended as an 
instrument of great political good; but we sometimes so dis- 
pute its meaning, that we cannot use it at all. One man will 
not have a bank, without the power of local discount, against the 
consent of the States ; for that, he insists, would break the 
constitution. Another will not have a bank with such a power, 
because he thinks that would break the constitution. A third 
will not have an exchequer, with authority to deal in exchanges, 
because that Avould increase executive influence, and so might 
break the constitution. And between them all, we are like the 
boatman who, in the midst of rocks and currents and whirl- 
pools, will not puU one stroke for safety, lest he break his oar. 
Are we now looking for the time when we can charter a 
United States bank, with a large private subscription ? When 
will that be ? When confidence is restored. Are we, then, to 
do notjiing to save the vessel from sinking, tiU the chances of the 
winds and waves have landed us on the shore ? He is more 
sanguine than I am, who thinks that the time wiU soon come 
when the Whigs have more power to work effectually for the 
good of the country than they now have. The voice of patriot- 
ism calls upon them not to postpone, but to act at this moment, 
at the very next session ; to make the best of their means, and 
to try. (Cheers.) You say that the administration is responsi- 
ble; why not then try the plan it has recommended. If it 
fails, let the President bear the responsibility. If you wiU not 
tiy this plan, why not propose something else ? 

Gentlemen, in speaking of events that have happened, I 
ought to say, and will, since I am making a full and free com- 
munication, (cheers,) that there is no one of my age, and I am 
no longer very young, who has written or spoken more against 
the abuse and indiscreet use of the veto power, than I have. 
(Cheers.) And there is no one whose opinions upon this sub- 



29 

ject are more unchanged. (Renewed cheering.) I presume it is 
universally known, that I have advised against the use of the veto 
power on every occasion when it has been used since I have 
been in the Cabinet. (Tremendous cheering.) But I am, nev- 
ertheless not willing to join those who seem more desu'ous to 
make out a case against the President, than of serving their 
country, to the extent of then- ability, vetoes notAvithstanding. 
(Cheers.) Indeed, at the close of the extra session, the received 
doctrine of many, for a time, seemed to be, that they would un- 
dertake nothing until they could amend the constitution so as to 
do away with this power. This was a mere mockery. If we 
were now reforming the constitution, we might wish for some, 
I do not say what, guards and restraints upon this power, more 
than the constitution at present contains; but no convention 
would recommend striking it out altogether. Have not the 
people of New York lately amended their constitution, so as 
to require, in certain legislative action, votes of t^vo thirds ? and 
is not this same restriction in daily use in the national House 
of Representatives itself, in the case of suspension of the rules ? 
This constitutional power, therefore, is no greater a restraint than 
this body imposes on itself. But it is utterly hopeless to look 
for such an amendment; who expects to live to see its day? 
And to give up all practical efforts, and to go on with a general 
idea that the constitution must be amended before any thing can 
be done, was, I wiU not say trifling, but treating the great neces- 
sities of the people as of quite too little importance. This 
Congi-ess accomplished, in this regard, nothing for the people. 
The exchequer plan which was submitted to it, will accompHsh 
some of the objects of the people, and especially the Whig 
people. I am confident of it; I know it. (Cheers.) When 
a mechanic makes a tool, an axe, a saw, or a plane, and know^s 
that the temper is good, and the parts are well proportioned, 
he knows that it wiU answer its purpose. And I know that 
this plan will answer its purpose. (Cheers.) 

There are other objects which ought not to be neglected, 
among which is one of such importance that I will not now 
pass it by — I mean the mortifying state of the public credit 
of this country at this time. I cannot help thinking, that if the 



30 

statesmen of a former age were among us, — if Washington 
were here, — if John Adams, and Hamihon, and Madison, 
were here, — they would be deeply concerned, and soberly 
thoughtful, about the present state of the public credit of the 
country. In the position I fill, it becomes my duty to read, 
generally with pleasure, but sometimes with pain, communica- 
tions from our public agents abroad. It is distressing to hear 
them speak of their distress at what they see and hear of the 
scorn and contumely with which the American character and 
American credit are treated abroad. Why, at this very time, 
we have a loan in the market, which, at the present rate of 
money and credit, ought to command in Europe one hundred 
and twenty-five per cent. Can we sell a dollar of it ? And how 
is it with the credit of our own commonwealth ? Does it not 
find itself affected in its credit by the general state of the credit 
of the country ? Is there nobody ready to make a movement 
in this matter? is there not a man in our councils large enough, 
comprehensive enough in his views, to undertake at least to 
present this case before the American people, and thus do some- 
thing to restore the public character for morals and honesty ? 

There are in the country some men, who are indiscreet 
enough to taUi of repudiation^ — to advise their fellow-citizens 
to repudiate public debt. Does repudiation pay a debt ? Does 
it discharge the debtor ? Can it so modify a debt that it shall 
not be always binding, in law as weU as in morals? No, 
gentlemen ; repudiation does nothing but add a sort of disrepute 
to acknowledged inability. It is our duty, so far as is in our 
poAver, to rouse the public feeling on the subject; to maintain 
and assert the universal principles of law and justice, and the 
importance of preserving pubhc faith and credit. People say 
that the intelligent capitalists of Europe ought to distinguish 
betw^een the United States government and the State govern- 
ments. So they ought; but, gentlemen, what does all this 
amount to? Does not the general government comprise the 
same people who make up the State governments ? May not 
these Europeans ask us how long it may be before the national 
councils will repudiate public obligations ? 

The doctrine of repudiation has inflicted upon us a stain 



31 



which we ought to feel worse than a wound ; and the time has 
come when every man ought to address himself soberly and 
seriously to the correction of this great existing evil. I do not 
undertake to say what the constitution allows Congress to do 
in the premises. I will only say, that if that great fund of the 
pubhc domain be, properly and in equity, belonging, as is 
maintained, to the States themselves, there are some means, 
by regular and constitutional laws, to enable and induce the 
States to save their own credit and the credit of the country. 

Gentlemen, I have detained you much too long. I have 
wished to say that, in my judgment, there remain certain 
iniportant objects to engage our public and private attention, 
in the national affairs of the country. These are, the settlement 
of the remaining questions between ourselves and England ; 
the gi-eat questions relating to the reciprocity principle ; those 
relating to colonial trade ; the most absorbing questions of the 
cun-ency, and those relating to the great subject of the restitu- 
tion of the national character and the public faith ; these are 
all objects to which I am willing to devote myself, both in 
public and in private life. I do not expect that much of public 
service remains to be done by me; but I am ready, for the 
promotion of these objects, to act with sober men of any party, 
and of all parties. I am ready to act with men who are free 
from that great danger that surrounds all men of all parties, — 
the danger that patriotism itself, warmed and heated in party 
contests, will run into partisanship. (Cheers.) I beheve that, 
among the sober men of this country, there is a gi'owing desire 
for more moderation of party feeling, (cheers,) more predomi- 
nance of purely public considerations, more honest and general 
union of well-meaning men of all sides to uphold the institu- 
tions of the country and carry them forward. (Cheers.) 

In the pvu-suit of these objects, in pubhc Hfe or in a private 
station, I am willing to perform the part assigned to me, and 
to give them, with hearty good-will and zealous effort, all that 
may remain to me of strength and life. 



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